I know times are tough, and that we need to save money wherever we can.

That being said, DON’T MESS WITH THE FLOW OF COFFEE.

*ahem* Please, excuse me for yelling. The supply of coffee to your workers is as vital to the productivity of your office as the supply of gasoline is to the transportation system.

Some things not to do without careful analysis and communication to your workers:

Requiring workers to pay for the office coffee.

Changing the supplier of the coffee to your break room.

Changing the model of coffee maker to a cheaper one. (You had better make sure it can actually handle the load that your office staff will put on it.)

“Going green” by no longer supplying cups. It’s best to get acknowledgment in writing from every one of your employees, lest a revolt break out due to the inability of people to actually get coffee, or worse, people taking the carafes as coffee mugs.

A person might not be evil for planning a large team meeting in the break room. Or placing a makeshift sign on the door informing me that a meeting is in progress and I am not invited.

But when said meeting occurs between 7:30a.m. and 9:30a.m. on a Monday morning … I know I am dealing with pure evil. Who in their right mind would place a barrier between dozens of Monday-morning workers and their crappy break room coffee? Too much of this, and a grumpy coworker uprising is inevitable.